Next Step Further
by soulsborne123
Summary: Where Naru deals with a very frustrated Mai and contemplates on what the next step the two of them should make. Set 5 years after "A Christmas Story" (although it can stand on its own), multi-chapter in progress. [Will have extremely steamy moments, so be warned!]
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** _I'm not deeeead! Lately I haven't had much inspiration to write, but I've been reading everything GH I could get my hands on. I know the GH tumblr community recently had some interesting events that I really, really wanted to join in, but I'm just so afraid I might not be able to deliver, so I have been refraining from signing up. BUT IT SOUNDS SO FUN. There's so much talent and creativity from everyone! But for now I guess I'll have to smooch off others' hard work and just guiltily read everything._

 _This is part of the ACS universe, set 5 years after. It will be multichaptered only because I'm deciding to split it up into chapters, but it really is meant to be a 'one-shot'. Hope you guys enjoy the first chapter!_

* * *

 **1**

The sound of three evenly spaced knocks broke his thread of thought. Before he could mutter out a reply, Lin's head popped in from behind the door and for the second time inquired, "Noll, are you quite sure you've no inclination of coming along? Madoka and I are about to head out for dinner."

Naru lazily shifted his gaze up from his computer screen, which had been the only source of light in the room since he had insisted on installing black-out curtains, and turned to the Chinese man but said nothing. Lin sighed and pushed the door open wider so that he may step inside the dim room and let some light in.

"Those overhead lights aren't just for decoration," Lin suggested.

"A very insightful comment. Have you got more to share?"

"If it's your penny-pinching habits that's making you disinclined to make use of them, then perhaps you should first consider cutting back on your requests for tea. We are practically running the electric stove all day, not to mention the amount of tea leaves you go through in a month. The cost of running the lights are practically a fraction of what it costs to pay your addiction. Additionally, if you consider the damage it does to your eyes-"

Naru pinched the bridge of his nose and abruptly cut in, "-When I asked if you've got more comments, it was sarcasm."

The corner of Lin's mouth curved in a slight smirk. "It seems Yasuhara-san's observation was right: responding with an obliviously calm, long-winded reply is all it takes to shut down your taunting. I must warn you- Taniyama-san was taking notes."

Naru frowned, but thought better against continuing their topic of conversation and instead replied, "I've already said I won't be going. I've still quite a lot of papers to sort through. Besides," he sighed, waving his arm about nonchalantly, "I've really no desire to be the third wheel on your date."

Lin coughed to mask his embarrassment and responded firmly, "I'm not sure what you mean. It isn't a date. Madoka and I are going for dinner together, only because you are unwilling to join us."

"Last night you made a reservation for Tofuya Ukai. I don't recall you asking me about it beforehand and I also cannot imagine you asking any of the irregulars out, so that leaves only Madoka. The setting is rather fancy and expensive, which leads me to believe that this a special occasion and not a spontaneous decision, though the invitation extended to me certainly was and honestly took me by surprise."

"You knew about the reservation?" the man asked incredulously.

"I am not deaf and you're not as covert as you would love to think. I overheard you make the call." He then gave some pause. "I've only realized earlier that in choosing to stay in the office later than usual, I must have introduced some unwanted complications to your plans for tonight. That wasn't my intention, I assure you, and though Madoka loves to proclaim I have no manners, I at least know enough to not want to get in the way of your date."

"You are mistaken- it isn't a date. Why would Madoka and I go on a date?"

"Are you really asking me?" Naru asked with mock incredulity.

Lin seemed uncertain whether or not he should respond to his remark, and Naru could feel a smirk beginning to grace the corners of his own mouth. Apart from teasing Mai, getting the upper hand on Lin was probably his next favorite past-time activity and no matter how much coaching Yasuhara could offer anybody, sooner or later he, Oliver Davis, always got the better hand. He leaned forward on his table and, with a condescendingly straight-forward tone, proceeded to school the older man on the subject of romance no one would have expected him to have much insight on.

"At the beginning of a typical relationship, a couple would usually opt to go out on public excursions together, called a 'date', in order to learn more of each other and begin to form their special bond. Whereas younger people tend to go for a simple lunch at a trendy cafe, older people with more financial security tend to prefer having dinner at a quiet, intimate venue of a fancy establishment. Other possible date activities include a picnic at the beach, visiting theme parks, strolling by the lake, visiting museums, and such other. Eventually as they progress along, the couple may then choose to engage in a much more intimate activity to completely solidify their bond, one that is typically, and hopefully, done on a more private setting. Though I have been told some people see the preliminary activities to be too slow and simply skip to the end, but that thinking seems to be frowned upon by society."

"Are you speaking from experience?" Lin challenged, but Naru pretended to not have heard and blatantly ignored him. Lin sighed and pushed the door slightly closed beside him, enveloping the room in near complete darkness once again. In a low voice he said, "It really is quite remarkable how observant you are, though it's somewhat surprising that it even extends to a keen perception on people's... feelings, given your own detached nature."

Naru rolled his eyes and asked with a cocked eyebrow, "You mean to tell me all this time you were both actually trying to hide your budding relationship? I would have thought you'd know by now how awfully terrible you are at maintaining your cover."

Lin blinked. "Oh? And would you be kind enough as to explain that statement?"

Deciding to humor his guardian (though at twenty-three, he really couldn't stand how his parents still insisted on Lin accompanying him everywhere as if he constantly required any supervision) Naru gave him a tired sigh and replied, "Need I remind you how many times you've almost pre-maturely exposed our identities to the other members with your constant nagging? And how, blinded by your ridiculous soft spot for Mai, you often became careless and made her privy (and by extension the rest of the team) to my personal information? Bou-san and Yasuhara-san were able to piece the facts together thanks to the tidbits of information you've let slip."

Lin silently mouthed 'nagging' in disbelief and felt a mounting annoyance. To be blamed for doing something the git eventually ended up benefiting from. If he hadn't been providing the team little scraps of information that kept them mystified and interested, Noll's sour personality would eventually have made everyone take off (well, probably). The boy should have been thanking him instead! Lin looked at his charge pointedly and retorted, "Let's not be hypocritical here, Noll. We both know you were the first one to get drawn to Taniyama-san and began trusting her with what secrets you felt you could share."

Naru shrugged. "I'm not going to sit here and argue over who accepted her first. It's irrelevant."

Lin suddenly grew solemn and finally admitted with a sigh, "We hoped to keep the nature of our relationship between us for the moment due to the nature of my family's..." but he trailed off, unable to finish the words that were sure to be disrespectful toward his own kin.

"If you want to insist that your relationship with Madoka is strictly platonic then fine, though I fail to see how you think exposing it to the others would complicate your efforts to shield the truth from your ridiculous family," Naru replied with a scoff. "I only wanted to you to know that I was not aware that had been your intention. Perhaps the other members do not suspect anything since they haven't known you both as long as I have, but I hardly think the two of you are as subtle as you believe. Now go and leave; I've got work to do."

"Fine." Lin decided he was going to let the matter rest for now. Though there'd been plenty occasions where his charge's brilliance had astounded him, he was still continually surprised at how nothing ever got past his keen, observant eyes. He'll have to inform Madoka over dinner. "The restaurant is nearby, so we hope we won't be long. What time do you need us back to pick you up?"

"You needn't feel like you have to rush. I've got plenty of work ahead of me. Come get me on your own time."

"I see. Then we'll see you in a couple hours."

Naru didn't bother to reply, and Lin didn't bother to wait for one. As soon as their conversation ended, Lin stepped out of the office and shut the door softly behind him, while Naru re-focused his attention on the computer screen before him. A few minutes later, he heard Madoka's giggle and the sound of the main door being shut.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** _Suggestive (and there's more coming). You've been warned! Thanks for reading, and hopefully people will leave reviews this time! TT_TT_

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 **2**

Naru didn't bother stifling back a yawn. He gave a little stretch and craned his neck side to side before settling into his seat and preparing to resume the work that his conversation with Lin had temporarily derailed.

It had been somewhat difficult for him to focus earlier due to the presence of the irregular SPR members, who, for some reason, made an irritating habit of turning his office into a cafe despite how many times he's made it clear that their presence were strictly unwanted unless he needed them on a case. It had been very distracting (their voices often got loud and it didn't help that his door wasn't sound-proof) as he overheard them speaking of foolish topics such as the state of Yasuhara-san's love-life, the nature of Bou-san and Matsuzaki-san's most recent argument, how the tea they were drinking was exceptionally good today (Naru glared at the door at this and wondered if Mai served them _his_ special tea blend), and so and and so forth, but eventually they started filtering out one by one and the noise returned to more tolerable levels once again. Aside from Mai's frequent tinkling laughter elicited from whatever ridiculous thing came out of Yasuhara's mouth, the office remained relatively quiet afterward but even so, thinking it now unlikely for there to be any more potential client coming by since it was already nearing the end of the day anyway, Naru also decided to excuse his two part-timers an hour early so as to provide him near total silence. That had been an hour ago and the amount of work he had managed to accomplish in such a small amount of time was astounding, even to him. Unfortunately the recent conversation with Lin had broken his sheer concentration, but now with even Lin and Madoka gone he could finally resume drafting out his next paper without any more interruptions.

He looked at the empty tea cup in front of him and pursed his lips. He would have to brew himself a large batch. In a swift move he stood up and grabbed the empty cup and saucer, winding around his office table, but suddenly froze when his office door suddenly opened.

"Mai," he stated more than asked, though he was certainly confused. "What are you still doing here? Haven't I excused you over an hour ago?" he asked, but she only fidgeted and started tugging at the hem of her shirt without answering him. A concerned frown marred his face.

"Is there something you needed?" he prodded again, taking a few steps in front of his desk and setting his cup back down.

He watched her curiously as she furrowed her brows and bit her lip in obvious contemplation, heavily considering her next step. Then she suddenly looked up with a determined look and made her way toward him, hastily grabbed him by the front of his shirt, and locked her lips against his in a heated kiss. The force and passion in which she kissed him took him entirely by surprise and he fell back a step, the lower part of his buttocks hitting against the desk behind him and nudging it, causing the cup on the table to tip over. Without looking so as to not break their kiss, Naru reached out his right hand and fumbled a bit trying to right the cup back up.

When they finally broke apart for a breath, he placed his hands on her shoulder and immediately asked, "Mai, is something wrong?"

She initially shook her head no, but then suddenly decided to nod. "I mean, I think, yes, kind of. I don't know how to explain exactly?"

He raised his brow and replied sarcastically, "Well that made sense."

"Well what can I do, I already said I don't know how to explain it... Or actually, I don't know how to explain it without being _weird_. Ugh," she groaned. "Never mind. I don't know, it's nothing."

Naru sighed in mild irritation. "If it was nothing you wouldn't have returned here after being dismissed and telling me these nonsensical things. Did you forget something?"

"No... but I... an opportunity presented itself and I thought I couldn't let it pass."

"Do enlighten me."

She reddened. "Well okay. I didn't immediately head home after you excused us for the day, I just kind of walked around and then decided to go grocery shopping. After that I just happened to pass by Lin-san and Madoka-san and they mentioned that you were still in the office. By the way, I initially thought they were on their way to a date, but strangely Lin-san invited me along. What was that about?"

Naru snorted. "Lin's an idiot."

Mai smiled. "Anyway of course I said no since I don't get paid until next week. And then I realized that meant you'd be alone in the office so I stopped by."

"If you're implying I'd get lonely or scared staying at the office by myself-" Naru began irritably, but Mai only rolled her eyes.

"No, you idiot. I am saying... the opportunity..."

"What opportunity?" he insisted.

She let out a 'tsk' before pulling him down again for another kiss, this time using her tongue to beg him for permission to be let in, and Naru suddenly found himself unable to think. The thought of refusing her never even crossed his mind; his body only responded by instinct as he pulled her in closer, hungry for more. When she pulled away, she whispered huskily, "You. Me. Here. Alone."

At this, Naru's head instantly cleared and he straightened himself up. "No. It is inappropriate. This is neither the time, nor the place. The consequence if Madoka and Lin were to suddenly return while..." and the thought made him internally cringe.

"They're going on a date! They won't be back for _hours_. And besides, I locked the front door when I came in."

Naru only raised his brow.

"I did! You want to check? It's perfectly locked. If they returned sooner, we'll still have plenty of time to get situated, but I don't really think that will be any issue." She said all these in her typical, cheerful way that it was strange for Naru to accept the underlying provocativeness of her words. "Go outside and check!"

He sighed and decided to step outside his office, even if to just humor her. Besides, it would give him some time to formulate a plan to get out of the situation without hurting her feelings. It wasn't that he didn't find sex with her appealing, but she already knew that he had intimacy issues that often gave him trouble getting in the proper mood, and the thought of doing the deed in the office where there was an extremely high chance of being caught definitely helped matters none.

He studied the door lock for longer than was necessary but eventually he spun back around on his heels and made his way back into his office. "It certainly is locked," he paused when he realized Mai wasn't where he left her.

"Told you," came from behind him. She was standing right beside his office door with a naughty grin on her face and slowly closed it, making a point of locking it as well. "So?"

Naru heaved a sigh and semi-sat down on the edge of his desk, rubbing the side of his temple with his thumb. On one hand it seemed _interesting_ , but on the other hand it was _terrifying-_ \- and Oliver Davis wasn't one to use that word lightly. The consequences of getting caught could forever ruin both of their reputation. And besides, if he was so worried about getting caught, could he even perform properly? It may not even be enjoyable for either of them, so what point would there be to risking it? He looked at her. "Tell me why you're suddenly acting like this."

Mai frowned. "What do you mean, ' _like this_ '?"

"You think you're acting normal? Suddenly attacking me with kisses, locking me in my office, and suggesting I bend you over my desk-"

"-I never said you should bend me over your desk -" Mai cut in, but Naru simply talked over her.

"-These are not the things you would usually do, Mai."

She crossed her arms and huffed. "Well I am frustrated, Oliver Davis!"

"Frustrated?" Naru echoed.

"Yes. For one, we haven't been spending much time together this entire month, not counting our time in the office."

He gave that some thought. He'd always been a workaholic, that was never a secret, and he thought Mai had already come to accept that as part of who he is. But he supposes even Mai would have her limit as to what she could tolerate so it's understandable she would eventually become frustrated with him. It was actually a wonder she put up with it for so long.

"Two, my apartment got fumigated some weeks ago."

That didn't make sense to him. How could that be his fault? Although now that she brought that up, he pointed out, "You stayed at my place for two days because of it, meaning I was able to spend time with you outside of work hours within this month."

"Yes, but Lin-san was always around!"

"He does live with me, so naturally."

"You gave me your room."

"Are you complaining? Shall I make sure to insist you sleep on the sofa next time, then?"

Mai rolled her eyes. "We could have slept together on the same bed, in the same room."

Naru shook his head and simply said, "Improper."

"I don't understand you. We've slept together many times before!"

"In your apartment where it was just the two of us."

"Right, as long as no one knew you were going to be staying over alone, with me," Mai scoffed. "Because it always _has_ to be a secret with you."

"It always _has_ to be not indiscreet," he corrected.

"You and your strict adherence to propriety and privacy is so ridiculous sometimes."

Okay, so perhaps his want of privacy tended to be on the obsessive side. Memories of the past when he had to pose as Shibuya Kazuya and lie to his team for the entire year flitted through his mind. He had to admit he felt somewhat guilty for tricking them, especially how gracious and understanding everyone had been once the truth came out. He expected them all to shun him, to be angry at the deception, but nothing of the sort ever came. They'd all been very patient and understanding, especially Mai. It was understandable she'd be frustrated with him over this.

"Three," she continued, "I had my period last week."

Naru stood up and sighed in irritation. "Don't be silly, Mai. You know that is not something I can help."

"What? I know that. I mean, my apartment had been unavailable for use, then we couldn't be alone at your place, and when my apartment finally became habitable again, my damn uterus had to go bleed."

"Again, I don't understand how that is my fault."

"Why would it be your fault?" she asked incredulously.

"Mai, this conversation is getting ridiculous. You were the one who said I was frustrating you. The other two I admit, I'll have to work on, but it's ridiculous to blame me for your menstrual cycle."

Mai barked a laughter. "No, no you misunderstood. I said I am frustrated, but not at you, Naru! I understand completely that you love your work and you heavily value your stupid privacy. I mean I am... I am..." she fumbled with her skirt once again, but Naru's pointed look made her swallow up her embarrassment as she squealed out, "I'm _sexually_... frustrated..."

A look of comprehension came about Naru's face.

"I haven't had any outlet! You know, sometimes you just want a release... oh wait. You don't really get that feeling, do you."

Naru's lips were set in a grim line as he replied, "Not often, as you already know."

"Oh I know, I know! I'm sorry," Mai groaned. "I don't mean to make you so uncomfortable. What am I even thinking. I'm sorry, Naru. I don't want to force you to do something you don't want."

When Naru made to walk up to her, she held up her hand and shook her head. "No, it's okay. I understand, really. The last thing I want to do is make you feel bad for refusing me."

There it was again, that feeling of being torn. On one hand he was terrified. On the other hand, seeing her this agitated about sex stirred something within him. "Mai. I'm willing to try." Her head snapped up immediately, but he added, "I don't know if we'll get far, however."

Mai gave him a smile, but he was once again taken aback in surprise when she quickly rushed over to him and kissed him passionately. Her hands began un-tucking his shirt and unbuttoning the top few buttons, but halfway through she changed target and instead began roaming down his pants and unbuckling his belt. She reached inside his trousers and smirked slyly against his lips when he began groaning softly. "I don't feel any problems down here," she cooed.

As she stroked the bulge in between his legs, he snaked his hands up underneath her shirt and deftly unhooked her bra. He slid his hands back to her chest and began softly pinching the tender skin of her breasts, trailing hot kisses along her neck.

In the stillness of the office, their little moans sounded unbelievably loud in their ears. That was, until the phone rang. They immediately pushed off from each other and hastily began to straighten out their garments.

Mai shot Naru a nasty, angry scowl before walking away towards the phone. As if the interruption had been his doing. Why was she so incredibly moody at the moment?

"H-hello! Good evening, this is the SPR office, Taniyama Mai speaking. How can I help you?" she recited automatically. Then after hearing the reply from the other line, her eyes bulged as she looked at Naru in a panic. "Yasuhara-kun!"

That sound of that name never bode well for Naru. He sighed as he fiddled with the cuff of his sleeves.

"Oh um, I had to go back to the office because I forgot something. Oh, you-you did, too? I see. Will you be coming to pick it up?" she paused to listen to his reply, then paled. "Oh you're already nearby then?" She then turned a curious shade of green. "Oh, you're already outside? I see, okay, I'll open the door for you!" Mai quickly hung up and rushed toward the door, but not before getting caught by Naru, who straightened out the collar of her shirt with mild annoyance.

"You don't have to look so panicked," he said.

"Right, right." Mai nodded absentmindedly, mentally preparing herself to deal with Yasuhara's inquiries. When she opened the door, she offered him a squeaky, "Hello!"

"Hello again, Mai! What's the matter? You look kind of frazzled."

"N-no, no, I just feel terrible for not answering the door right away." She squinted her eye a bit and low-key tried to pry out some information from the boy. "How long did I keep you waiting?"

The young man laughed and waved nonchalantly. "No worries, Mai, not a big deal. I wasn't waiting long." At this, Mai heaved a sigh. Then Yasuhara finished, "Probably five minutes before I decided to call you."

"F-five minutes? Why did it take you five minutes to make a call?"

"Well I did knock several times before that, but no one came."

"Hah... so... so how'd you know there were still people here?"

Yasuhara stepped inside and shrugged. "The lights were on. Boss never leaves the light on." He gave a small, innocent, friendly nod to said Boss, who was currently leaning on his office doorway, silently watching the exchange. He then made his way toward his desk and picked up a folder, opened it to check to make sure it was the one he'd been looking for, and closed it shut. With a squeak of his heel against the hardwood floor he turned around and explained, "My application for that firm I wanted to intern in. Thanks again for agreeing to put in a recommendation for me, Boss."

Naru merely grunted.

"Well then I'll be going now! See you both tomorrow."

At this, Mai heaved a relieved sigh. For once Yasuhara was not being insufferably nosy.

"Oh, by the way, I was just wondering. How come you weren't able to hear my knocks, Mai?"

Mai paled again. She had relaxed too soon. "Uhm that was because... because..." Should she say she was in the kitchen making tea? But then, where was the tea? The kettle had even been put away. That would have been too obvious a lie. But before she could think of what to say, Naru cut in.

"We both did not hear the knock because we were both in my office."

Yasuhara and Mai both raised their brows. "Oh, you were together in your office?" he asked.

"Yes. We were engaged in conversation and therefore had been preoccupied." The best lies, as Naru read from one of his psychology books back in university, were always the ones with a hint of truth.

"Preoccupied? Wow, what about?"

"The topic of our conversation does not concern you."

"Ah, is that so?" Yasuhara mentally clicked his tongue. Now he wasn't sure if Naru was lying. If he had indulged in answering his question then he would have known for sure something was up, but the Boss only responded in his typical way. But maybe the Boss knew he'd think like that?

The two men locked eyes, but neither was able to gain much information from the other. Eventually, Yasuhara sighed. "Well I must take my leave now then!"

"Okay, see you tomorrow, Yasuhara-kun!" Mai cheerfully cried out, unaware of the mini-mental chess battle that just went on before her.

Before she could close the door behind him, however, he turned back to them once more and commented, "You've been very red the whole time, Mai." He gave her a sly smile and then finally walked away.

Naru was left to wonder if Yasuhara had confirmed his suspicions after all.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** _Oh my gosh I was re-reading the two chapters and I found so much grammatical errors. x_x Ugh, yuck. So I made some changes and hopefully I caught them all. Sorry about that._ _Thanks so much for the faves and follows on this story! At least people are reading it! Heh. Please leave a comment to let me know how it's going!_

okaysunshine: _Aw, thanks so much! I really appreciate your support and enthusiasm for my stories! It really makes me happy to know that people read and enjoy the stuff I write! And yes, Naru is such a pushover._

Fanficluver4life: _I'm glad you are enjoying the series! I am loving writing about them! Thank you for your continued support for my efforts, I really appreciate it!_

TakaTaro: _Hehehe, I imagine Naru's never seen a very aggressive Mai before so this is all new and exciting to him, her suddenly taking charge. He **thinks**_ _he's the 'S' between them, but maybe secretly he's an 'M'? o_O_

 _I have so much steamed lemons planned for these two in the next chapter, so... Warnings again!_

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 **3**

Naru watched as Mai shut the door softly and turned to face him with a sheepish look. "Do you... do you think Yasuhara-kun suspects anything?"

He could only reply to her question with a frosty stare, to which she shrunk back in guilt and squeaked out a tiny 'sorry'. Then, knowing that it was unfair to lay the blame all on Mai (he _had_ been complicit in the activity, after all), he sighed and softened his gaze. "Who knows. Though if he does, we can trust he will keep it to himself."

"Really? How do you know that?"

"He'll save it as leverage against me."

Mai raised a brow. "You mean against us."

He shrugged and muttered, "He seems to relish in irritating me, specifically." When Mai giggled, he gave a long sigh and glanced at the wall clock. It was already seven and the moon had already begun its ascent above the horizon. He caught sight of Mai's groceries that were sitting on top of her desk and glimpsed its contents inside: a bag of chips, a box of strawberries, a couple of onigiri, and instant ramen. With all the events that just unfolded and all the facts he'd recently come to realize, the sight of his utterly hopeless girlfriend's sad dinner became the tipping point which made him seriously contemplate going forward with his next move (not that he wasn't always serious).

"Mai," he suddenly called out, "grab the teacup in my office and put it away for the night. Please."

Having been asked politely, the brunette cried a cheerful "Okay!" and did as she was asked. He watched her saunter away toward the kitchen with a content smile on her face as he pulled out the cellphone from his pocket and began dialing Lin's number. A couple of rings later, the _Onmyouji_ answered.

" _Noll. Is there a problem? We've only just sat down."_

"No, nothing. Don't worry, I am not asking for an extraction. In fact, I've called to tell you that you won't be needing to head back for me here." He walked up toward Mai's desk and grabbed the bags.

" _Has Taniyama-san come back to the office then? We met her earlier."_

"Yes, she's here. We're headed off to dinner."

" _Alright, then let me know when and where you need me to pick both of you up."_

"No, there's no need" he said, internally biting back the sudden apprehension he was feeling. Why did it bother him so much to let others know of his own affairs? With the words waiting behind his throat, he took a breath and spluttered out in one breath before he could change his mind, "I'm taking Mai home afterward."

"... _Understood. Then I'll pick you up from there. What time?"_

Naru inwardly growled in irritation. How dense could he be? "Lin. There is no need to pick me up, and no need to wait up for me to come back tonight." He paused to let the words sink in. "We will see you at the office tomorrow," and before the could let the older man reply, he hung up.

Mai joined him by the coat rack and was currently looking at him in wonder, having missed the entirety of his phone conversation. Naru met her eyes then shifted his eyes toward her coat, making a small nudge of his head.

"I thought you were still working on stuff?" However Naru did not say a word and merely grabbed his own coat and put it on. Then as if she were only realizing it, she gasped and cried, "Oh no, Naru. I'm so sorry-did I bother you? You were working on something, right? There's no need to take me out, or home, really. I don't know what came over me to come back all of a sudden and bug you," the brunette blathered on. "Naru, are you-"

"-No," he said, cutting her off before she could start blaming herself. Although she _did_ distract him, and she did _distract_ him alright, but that was beside the point. Her arrival, their little bickering, her frustrations, the interrupted heated session, Yasuhara's (annoying) disruption- all of these made him realize there were things he needed to address. Things he needed to change. Things he needed to take care of. Even though it was hard and somewhat unnatural for him, he would do it all.

"I'm not angry. But I need dinner, and apparently I'll need to feed you as well. What rubbish have you got in this bag? You said you went grocery shopping."

"That's my dinner! I have onigiri with _tarako_ , so there's rice and fish, then instant ramen for my soup, and then chips and strawberries for desert. Full meal."

Naru scoffed and held the door open for her so she could step out. She pulled her coat around her, trapping her shoulder-length hair underneath the garment and Naru found himself momentarily distracted as he suddenly realized- had she grown her hair longer? How had he not noticed that? He mentally shook his head and locked the door, pocketing the keys in his pocket afterward. Gently he reached out to the nape of her neck and extracted her hair, noting the silkiness of her auburn locks.

Mai turned to smile him a thanks and asked, "So after dinner what's the plan?"

"I'm taking you home."

"Hm, does Lin-san remember the way to my apartment? What time will he pick you up? You made sure to tell him not to rush his date, right?"

"I told him he didn't need to pick me up."

She looked mildly surprised at this and exclaimed, "Wow, since when did you care about inconveniencing anyone, let alone Lin-san? You're awful for that, by the way." She playfully elbowed him and he grunted in annoyance. "Wait, that means you'll be taking the train back!"

Naru rolled his eyes and replied dryly, "You and Lin must be vying for the 'densest person' award today. Can't anybody take a hint anymore?"

"I don't understand what you mean by that and I don't care. But I don't want you to take the train back by yourself!"

He flicked her softly on the forehead. "Idiot. Lin doesn't have to pick me up. And I won't need to take the train back. I'm staying tonight."

Mai gasped (over-dramatically in Naru's opinion) and cried, "You... you are? But then Lin-san... You told Lin-san?"

"Obviously." Or not. The older man either refused to take a hint, or didn't get the hint, Naru wasn't sure. Maybe he should call again later and clarify? Or a simple text might suffice.

He gave a sidelong glance at his companion and saw, as he expected, a content, happy smile gracing her face. He had half the mind to complete her night by linking his hands with hers as they strolled along the busy streets of Shibuya... but at the last minute decided he could only match her pace and stand closer so that they walked, elbows touching. But it was alright, there was no need to rush. He was allowed to take little steps. And with Mai at his side, glancing up at him with a soft understanding smile, aware of his sudden closeness and no doubt of what he probably intended to do, he told himself he'd surely keep working at it. "Besides, I'm curious to know how you'd finish what you started."

Mai flushed at this and spluttered, "E-eh?! I thought you'd have forgotten about it by now... You weren't too into it to begin with."

"Who knows. At home, it might be a different matter altogether. I do hope some of that... enthusiasm of yours remain. It was curious."

She smirked back at his uncharacteristic playfulness and replied, "I guess we'll just have to wait until we get home, then. Shall we go for fast food?"

Naru gave a low chuckle, but found himself nodding in agreement.

 _-00-_

Lin stared at his phone in mild shock. Had he heard that right? Surely he must have understood? He should probably call him again later and clarify. Or maybe text.

"So Mai-chan came to the office? What did Noll want?" Madoka aked as she sipped her miso soup and popped an edamame bean into her mouth.

"Well right now they're headed for dinner. Then he'll take her home."

"Noll _can_ be a gentleman, after all! Luella would be so glad to hear that. So will you be picking him up right after our dinner?"

"No," Lin answered uncertainly. "He said there was no need to. He only said he'll see us at the office tomorrow before hanging up."

Comprehension stole about Madoka's face. "Noll's staying at Mai-chan's tonight? _Oh, my_! This has never happened before! Wait, this has never happened before right? Oh but they've been together for so long this can't be the first time... Now I wonder..."

Lin also could not recall any other time Noll spent the night at his girlfriend's apartment. Even when Mai slept over when her place was getting fumigated, Noll insisted on Mai taking his room while he slept outside. He was such a stickler for propriety you'd think he was a gentleman living from the Georgian Era alongside the likes of Mr. Darcys and Colonel Brandons. Suddenly he was reminded of the time Matsuzaki and the others tried to probe the two about the nature of their relationship **[1]** and realized that event had been three years ago. No one really brought it up nowadays, most likely because they must have become bored of trying to find out the truth by now since they've not had any hints at all whatsoever, but...Madoka was right- By now the two had been together for so long, it would have been stranger if they _still_ hadn't been intimate yet. But was it really stranger to think so? To think that Noll, of all people...

Lin scoffed out loud.

"Koujo?"

He cleared his throat and answered, "Nothing, I just realized Noll _was_ speaking from experience earlier when he was telling me about how relationships naturally progress. To think that git would be more experienced than I..." He shook his head and took a bite of his salad. "Never mind me, it's nothing. Have you decided on where you wanted to go after dinner? Did you still want to go to catch that movie?"

"Mm... Now that we're entirely free for tonight, how about we head back to your place?" the pinkette answered with a sly wink.

Lin choked on an almond.

* * *

 **[1]** _Lin is thinking about the 'truth or dare' incident from my other fic in this series, called, " **So They Have Kissed** ". Plug. Teehee._


End file.
